Pumpkin Sensory Bin for Preschoolers

Fall is one of the best times for the year for sensory activities for kids!! I absolutely adore making a pumpkin sensory bin for pre-schoolers, especially since I have two in my house right now!!

Find out what I put in my Fall sensory bin featuring mainly pumpkins, and how you can make an edible version! Let us face it when it comes to pumpkins we want to eat, eat, eat!

I love sensory bins at any time of the year but especially during Fall! I always use these as a fantastic learning experience for my kids, as well as a great way to stimulate their senses and creativity. I will also share some questions you can ask your little ones to get them thinking!

What is in my Pumpkin Sensory Bin for Preschoolers

I cannot keep you in the dark any longer (actually that’s another idea, a glow in the dark sensory board for Halloween) here are the components of my Fall sensory bin.

I was going to use a large red box, which I use for all my sensory bin ideas but I came across a large orange pumpkin bowl in my local Poundland which I thought would be perfect. You can use any shape of box or even a empty biscuit tin.

Pumpkin Seeds – which I bought at my local supermarket. I did not use the full packet so we can eat the rest 🙂 Sense tested – TASTE and FEEL

Yellow rice to represent corn. I think kids love picking this up and letting it roll of their hands and then hearing the pit pat as it dropped into the bowl! They also love the bright yellow color.

Pumpkin shaped gummies – these smell and taste great 🙂

Fall leaves – lots of different colors and shapes of leaves. Some of these have fallen today and are fresh whereas others are old and wilted. I wonder will my kids know the difference?!

Pine cones are a must as little kids love collecting these. Will my kids tear them into bits? You bet they will and I will let them explore as much as they want.

I could not have a pumpkin sensory bin without some pumpkin spice, could I?! I have broken up a pumpkin spice candle into tiny bits and added it to my bin. It smells amazing!

This was my initial idea for my Autumn sensory bin for pre-schoolers BUT my 4 year old demanded pumpkin lights!! She remembered I used them in my Halloween pumpkins game and wanted us to use them again.

I also found some yellow and orange feathers which I thought were appropriate feathers for Fall so I put them in too.

Other Fall Sensory Bin Ideas

You can add so much more to your preschool sensory bin to celebrate Fall. How about some cut up apples in an edible bin?!

You can make a liquid bin with gooey slime, or make a Halloween themed one with bats, witches, and ghosts! You can buy packs of these in your local Dollar Store.

How about a mini pumpkin patch sensory bin!! The opportunities are endless!

Pumpkin sensory activities are fabulous, I do hope you agree!! The good news is that you can use lots of the fillings in your sensory bin for other things! I love recycling and using things over; no better feeling than getting your money’s worth!

Pumpkin seeds – I would only eat these if they had been in the edible sensory bin, if not you could use them for sticking onto a picture! If you do fancy eating them, you should learn how to roast pumpkin seeds.

Rice – can be eaten as part of edible bin, or else used to make other sensory bottles or shakers!

Pine Cones – these can be painted for another fun Fall activity to keep your littles busy!! I bought a selection of paints the other day and some glitter to sprinkle on afterwards.

Pumpkin Gummies – you can wear these ring gummies on your finger or else eat them all in one go. I cannot see these lasting too long in our house.

Pumpkin spice candle – if you cut this into bits there is not too much left to do with it, but if you left it in one piece you can light it and enjoy the aroma!

Fall leaves – these have got to be used for a painting activity such as making leaf prints! I am planning to do this over the weekend with my kids so I will let you see the results 🙂

What Questions Can You Ask Your Kids While They Are Playing With Pumpkin Sensory Bin?

Regarding leaves and pine cones, I asked where might you find these. I was answered a jungle or forest. I said it cna be dark there so we would need the ‘pumpkin’ lights to be able to see where we are going. I then asked why are some of the leaves broken up, and Amelia answered because people have trod on them. I really love the way she can think and answer sensibly even at the young age of 4. I didn’t do this but you can also ask kids to count leaves or sort them in size order.

I had fun when I asked them what the broken up candle was. Obviously they did not say a candle as they never see them broken up. The answer was it’s definitely cheese Mom. Amelia picked it up and was still convinced it was cheese after feeling it. In her defence she does eat lots of hard cheese cut up in irregular shapes so I can see why she said this. I then asked her to smell and she said it smells lovely and cheese does not smell like that!! Such a good way to use the sense of smell to identify something or deny it as the case was here.

Ask them questions regarding quantity, i.e are there more pumpkin seeds or pieces of rice, to get them thinking.

Regarding sizes you could ask what is bigger/smaller here? Honestly there is no limit here and this is a good way to test Maths and get their brains working.